Texas Tech Lady Raiders’ Bailey Maupin sets example for West Texas
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At the end of practice, Bailey Maupin was determined to be ahead of the pack.
The Lady Raiders were running up and down the length of the court four times as a conditioning drill, and the young freshman was ahead of all her new teammates. A two-hour practice meant Maupin’s energy was low, but she ran as if practice had just begun.
Right before, the Lady Raiders failed to make 10 three-pointers in one minute. Maupin almost had the chance to make the 10th shot and desperately called for the ball, but didn’t receive it before time ran out.
If she couldn’t come out on top there, the ultra-competitive Maupin was determined to do it in conditioning.
“Even in conditioning workouts, she’s always one of the top ones,” Lady Raiders coach Krista Gerlich on Tuesday. “Some freshmen come in and it’s either too hard for them, or they don’t want to step on toes and so they don’t win every race. I love how much she loves to compete.”
Gerlich had recruited Maupin since she was in seventh grade when the former was at UT-Arlington. Living in the sparsely populated Gruver, a town just 100 miles north of Amarillo, players can have trouble getting noticed.
That’s why Gruver ISD’s superintendent, Wade Callaway, decided to put Maupin on Gerlich’s radar early.
“I got a message from the superintendent at Gruver and he said ‘I don’t know if seventh grade is too early, but you might want to keep an eye out on her.’” Gerlich said. We got her on campus at UTA and have been recruiting her ever since.”
Gerlich continued to recruit Maupin after arriving at Texas Tech in 2020 and succeeded in having her commit there, even helping Maupin move into her dorm room.
Texas Tech’s Bailey Maupin on growing her passion
Maupin’s love for Tech started young, as both her parents and grandparents attended the university. She started going to Tech football and basketball games when she was three and immediately admired what became her, “dream school.”
While Maupin isn’t the first in her family to attend Tech, she is the first to play sports at the university. That means something to her, and now she wants to set an example for the rest of her family.
“I just want to give my younger siblings someone to look up to,” Maupin said. “They’re really into basketball, and I just want to let them know they can go anywhere they want to go. They’re great athletes, and I want them to dream big because it’s all possible.”
Maupin has already developed a routine at Tech.
She’ll hit the weight room after waking up before joining her teammates for practice. After that, Maupin will eat before attending a study hall and another team practice before ending the day catching up on schoolwork.
When at practice, she does her best to compete and show toughness. Although Maupin is one of the most competitive players on Tech’s roster according to Gerlich, she’s one of the smallest and has been challenged by Tech’s bigger and taller players.
Maupin is aware of this, which is why she’s worked on her jump shot over the offseason. Since she may not be able to beat players inside now, Maupin will do it with her shooting.
“That’s been an adjustment for me, having to shoot more jump shots,” Maupin said. “I’ve been just trying to knock down open shots and make those that are presented to me. I don’t want to over-shoot or over-dribble and just do all the little things right.”
Maupin wore a facemask on Tuesday after an accidental backhand from one of Tech’s practice players broke her nose.
Despite that, she still took the court and will join the Lady Raiders for their preseason tour in Greece set for Aug. 7-16. It’ll be Maupin’s first trip outside North America, having only left the country for Jamaica on a vacation with her parents in high school.
Maupin is most looking forward to the chance of further bonding with her new teammates in Greece, who she’s spent all her time around since showing up in Lubbock.
“They’ve all been great,” Maupin said. “Upperclassmen have been great showing us around. All of us newcomers have really grown close because we do a lot do everything together. We’re in the gym three times a day with the whole team, so we’ve really just gotten extremely close. … and it’ll help us translate onto the floor.”
Gerlich is looking for players to spark a struggling Lady Raider program that’s gone nine seasons without an NCAA Tournament appearance. She’s noticed the work Maupin’s put in over the offseason, believing she can be an impact player for Tech this season.
“She’s very down-to-earth. She’s very chill. She’s never too high, never too low,” Gerlich said. “She’s just got a great personality and she’s just such a great kid. She’s very appreciative. She’s worked for everything she’s gotten. She’s not afraid to get down and in the dirt and go to work.
“She doesn’t want to wait until she’s a junior or senior. She loves this team and she wants to play with them now and help us. She’s out to prove herself every day.”
For Maupin, she wants to prove that a small town, West Texas girl can make it where they grew up from.
“For me, it was about staying home,” Maupin said. “I’m from here and didn’t want to be anywhere else. I wanted to show everybody from small towns that you can make your dreams come true right here in the 806.”
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